


Sleeping Beauty

by Flanker27_UK



Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26375815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flanker27_UK/pseuds/Flanker27_UK
Summary: I posted a bit of project work which was "Write a fairy tale set in the present day" So Robin Hood was moved to the Strike/Ellacott worldChilly Hollow then responded with her version of Beauty and the Beast, together with some suggestions for what other tales might benefit moving to this worldSo here's my take on Sleeping Beauty
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChillyHollow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChillyHollow/gifts).



Robin heard Cormoran pick-up the call she had just put through from Graham Hardacre, a few seconds of rough banter quickly faded and she heard her work partner rapidly become very professional grunting acknowledgements and jotting down notes in the scrawling script that she could now interpret as easily as her own. She heard him end the conversation with a terse

“We’ll get back to you”

Followed by the scrape of his chair being pushed back

She sat up and looked up expectantly, pushing down the little frisson of desire that jolted through her.

_I’ve got to get a grip, he just doesn’t find you at all attractive, he’s just your best friend and partner, and nothing will come of this crush you’ve developed._

She’d been telling herself the same thing for months but the feelings were getting more intense, not lessening. She tore herself away from her internal dialogue and waited for him to appear. Which he duly did, sitting down on the couch and looking at her with what she knew was his ‘Poker Face’.

But she knew him so well now, he had been the subject of her most intensive study since she had left university, albeit conducted with surreptitious glances, leveraging everything she had learned on her surveillance training courses. It had been helped that Cormoran had increasingly been relaxed with her, as far as she could tell not noticing her interest. So now she could tell from his eyes that he was worrying about something.

“Robin, we have a new job offered, but I don’t think we should take it”

She tensed, was he protecting her again, bristling

“Well we aren’t inundated with work are we, what's the job?”

“It’s a sub – contract from an import-export organisation”

“But you were talking to Graham”

“Hmm, yes it’s a very special import/exporter. They want us to shadow someone for a few days, their own people have been made and Graham thought us as outsiders would stand a good chance of pulling it off. But it’s dangerous, I’ve worked in this world before, it’s not just following civilians and the targets can be very, very nasty”

“And you don’t think I’m up to it do you, how many times have I had to tell you don’t wrap me in cotton wool”

Strike sighed, he knew this would be her reaction. He adored Robin and was petrified that something would happen to her, but they did need the very large fee being offered and he knew she was well capable of pulling it off.

“I knew you would be up for it, you’ll have to do it alone as I’m too obvious and as I’m ex-Army SIB and the Russ… The targets will have a file on me, you though are off the Radar. We need to follow someone and establish if any sort of exchange takes place.”

“Right I’ll get working on my disguise, so I can blend in” 

_\-----_

Robin walked slowly up Kensington High St, seemingly engrossed in her phone, actually following a grim looking man in a black overcoat with a surly expression and dark five o clock shadow.

_Could he look more like a spy if he tried?_

She glanced in one of the shop windows as she passed and was relieved to see a big man seemingly heading for the gym in tracksuit & and top with the hood pulled well up and dark glasses hiding his eyes.

_Cormoran trying to be cool, doesn’t really work._

She smiled to herself, and then saw the target disappear up the steps of the Royal Garden Hotel and followed him. She was glad that she’d dressed smart for this job and had a knee length flowing grey skirt paired with a pale turquoise blouse with three quarter length billowy sleeves. All set off with a smart, black, suede waist coat that accentuated her figure, all in all she fit in well with the Sloan Ranger set that were taking tea on the Park Terrace where her target was just sitting down with someone who he was obviously meeting.

Robin quickly ordered an apple tea & sat down where she could admire the view over Kensington Gardens, and more importantly surveil the meeting that was taking place. She pulled out her phone and pretending to read it took some pictures of the scene. She saw one of the targets glance in her direction and after a few moments put the phone down and started looking around as if she was waiting for a friend to arrive.

The waiter with her order was making his way towards her table when one of the men stopped him and he bent down to better hear what was being requested. With a nod and a smile he quickly made his way to Robin’s table and served the sweet smelling beverage, which was accompanied by a lovely looking apple turnover.

Robin picked up the cup and inhaled its lovely fruit fragrance, swallowing down a couple of mouthfuls and putting the bone china back on its matching saucer as it was a little hot to drink a lot of. As she waited for it to cool she began to feel strange. Cold but sweating at the same time. The room started spinning and her vision became blurred. She was seeing multiple copies of everything. She stood to try & head for the ladies as waves of nausea swept over her. She couldn’t stop herself and vomited all over the crisp white tablecloth. As her world closed in and light became a pinpoint, her last conscious thought was

_Cormoran, he’ll never know I love him_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several months later

“Hi Cormoran”

“Hi Janelle, any change?”

A mute shake of the head confirmed that things were no different

“Just go on up, you know the way by now”

Strike got into the small lift, grateful that he didn’t have to drag himself up the six flights of stairs to the private room where Robin was. He was tired out from a day following a suspect, his knee had that low level ache that he knew only complete rest would cure. He had eaten a sandwich on the tube, picked up from a Pret’ near the office. If asked he would not be able to tell you what it had contained. Work, food, drink and sleep were just inconvenient necessities that kept him away from here. He had finally accepted that he had to go home to sleep in a bed after Nick had laid it on the line for him

“You’ll be no good to her in another hospital laid out with exhaustion”

He paused at the doorway, checking if anyone else was visiting. Despite the distance the Ellacott family had rallied round, staying in London on a rota basis so that there was always a family member on hand.

Just. In case.

The room was empty as was usual the family tended to visit during the day leaving the evenings to Cormoran. At first they had been surprised by his commitment to his work partner, but a long discussion with Linda Ellacott had resulted in him pouring his heart out to her, his anguish that he’d never really told Robin how he felt about her, waiting until the time was right. Her mum had mothered him as well holding this big man as he revealed his feelings in the family room of the coma wing of the hospital.

“I think she knew Corm, the way she talked about you, how she sometimes was lost in the moment when we talked. Mum’s know their daughters better than they realise.” 

He crossed the room to the chair at the bedside, listening to the steady bleep of the machines monitoring her condition, all normal.

She looked like she was just asleep, her beautiful hair now straggling across the pillow, missing the regular conditioning that Robin had lavished on it. Her face as relaxed and lovely as ever, the lack of makeup making no difference to how she appeared to Cormoran. She still was the most beautiful person in the world to him. And would be for ever. Taking her hand he gently stroked her knuckles.

“So Little Bird, I’ve had a busy day following ‘Crooked Lawyer’…”

As he did every night Cormoran told her everything, briefing her on the business, funny stories and jokes. Updating her on Ilsa’s pregnancy.

“You would be so pleased to see her, she’s absolutely blooming, 5 months gone now and getting quite big, she and Nick send their love”

“Now I’ve saved the best news till last. We got who slipped you Novichok, I can’t give you the details but they picked the wrong firm to piss off. I worked with Hardy and the guy is now in a Dark Site being ‘interviewed’. They might have thought they were tough guys and that the Brits always play by the rules. But not this time, this time we got the bastards, they didn’t realise that Shanker plays by his own rules and when he heard what had happened to you, well let’s say he didn’t kill him but he’s a few non-essential bits of his anatomy are missing”

“Oh my love, I know I’ve told you before I know what it’s like being affected by that filthy stuff, luckily when I was attacked in East Germany I had the antidote Epi-Pen on me so neutralised it. But I know how awful it is.”

He carried on chatting, all the time watching, seeing if there was any reaction from her.

The door opened and Linda Ellacott came in, gave him a wan smile, she had obviously been crying

“Linda, I thought Jon was down this week?”

She nodded mutely

“He is, Michael and I came down this morning after the Hospital called”

The hard lump that Strike had carried round in his gut rose up and filled his throat, he fought to maintain his composure.

“The doctors have told us that they think Robin has Locked in Syndrome, she should have come out of the coma by now but shows no sign of it.”

Linda let out a shuddering sigh

“So we’ve decided that we should move her much nearer to Masham so we can continue to care for her, near where everything she loves is”

“But”

“I know Cormoran, I’m sure she loves you as well and you will always have a place in our home for you to visit. But we can’t continue coming to London, not when there’s no h..”

“Don’t say it Linda, There has to be hope, she has to come back to me, to us!”

“I’m sorry Cormoran, we’ve made our mind up, we’ve arranged for her to be moved tomorrow. I’ll leave you with her now.”

Strike held himself together long enough for the door to close behind her. Then a tsunami of emotion erupted inside him all the pain and grief and sorrow poured out, tears poured down his cheek. Emotion that he thought he’d conquered poured out of him. He then did what he’d forced himself not to do for so many months. He held her in his arms his head buried in her neck and his face smothered in her hair.

“Oh Robin, Robin please come back to me I need to tell you how much I love you”

Then, for the only time since the accidental one outside another hospital he gently kissed her on the lips. Not a romantic kiss, a sad emotional, final kiss. Loaded with tears.

Moving back into the clinch for a final goodbye hug, he knew he wouldn’t be able to make the trek to Yorkshire very often he held her as if his life depended on it. Crying softly into her hair

Then, astonishingly he felt a weak arm surround his neck

And a faint whisper

“I love you too”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to make this 2 chapters but I will add an epilogue


	3. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens just before 'Happily Ever After'

“Lunch, Bay Horse?”

“Sounds lovely”

Cormoran helped Robin into her trench coat, quickly shrugging on his own light fleece, although it was spring Yorkshire could be cold at times. They strolled down the lane to the town that Strike was learning to love. This was a much needed break for them both after the trauma of the past year.

He loved to feel his partners arm linked through his, each day she was getting stronger and this visit home for Robin was part of her ongoing rehabilitation. Also it was a chance for Strike to further strengthen the bonds he had built with Robin’s family when they had united in grief and worry while she had been so very ill.

“I think I’ll be ready to go back to work soon…”

Robin stopped as Cormoran gave her an old fashioned look.

“Well maybe you could, but I have another plan, how would you like to ease back into normal life by finishing your degree? Andy Sam & I can manage and think how good it would be with a qualified Forensic Psychologist on the staff?”

She rubbed her cheek against his arm and sighed

“Thank you that would be marvellous”.

They walked on in contented silence and strolled round the busy market in the town centre, Robin enjoying browsing the craft stalls that were much the same as when she had done the same as a schoolgirl

They settled into the pub and Strike went to the bar for drinks, a pint of Masham Ale for him and a Coke. Robin was still avoiding alcohol on doctors’ orders.

The medical profession were still slightly baffled at how she had come out of the coma. The best explanation they had was that Strikes immune system was resistant to nerve agents following his exposure and his body had concentrated the resistance to such an extent, that when he had kissed her his tear laden lips had transferred enough into Robin to kick hers into life.

Robin had another theory, the kiss had meant everything to her as it had shown her how much her love for Cormoran was reciprocated and she just had to wake up & let him know!

“I’ve ordered us a couple of Ploughman’s, we’ll have to leave room for your mum’s dinner tonight”

Linda had taken ‘build Robin’s strength up’ to heart and was feeding them banquet sized meals every evening. Much to Jonathon’s delight.

“I have a bit of news from Hardacre, there has been a swap, the arsehole who poisoned you is going home in exchange for one of our officers. But I don’t think they’ll welcome him with open arms. He totally over-reacted when he tampered with your drink and it blew his operation, the FSB don’t give you second chances so I suspect he’ll spend the rest of his life counting trees in Siberia”

The smiling waitress appeared with their plates piled high with cheese, crusty bread and salad. Robin immediately transferred all the onion from her plate to Strikes, and grinned as he popped a forkful into his mouth.

“Robin, is that you?”

Her heart sank to her boots

“Oh Hello Kimberly, Cormoran, this is Kimberly, Matthews sister”

“How are you Rob, I was worried about you when I heard, and Grace was asking about her auntie Robin”

“I’m on the mend now, and it’s all thanks to Cormoran here, he saved me really”

“I know things went to shit with you and Matthew, but if ever you want to see Gracie, just pop in”

Just then something caught Matthew’s sister’s eye

“Is that…”

Robin offered up her left hand, showing the rose gold, elegant emerald ring that Cormoran had proposed with.

“Yes, my near death experience just brought everything to the surface between us…”

“And I never want to be apart from her again” Strike rumbled

Making her excuses Kimberly rapidly left the pub, dragging her phone out of her pocket as she reached the door

“Well, Matt will be getting the full briefing now, I suppose it had to happen sometime, at least he’s in London and we’re in Yorkshire”

“Now you are sure you want to marry me in Cornwall?”

“Oh god yes, one marriage in Masham is enough”

As they left and started on the path home Robin pulled him aside and ran her fingers through his hair

“Kiss me Strike, every time you kiss me I know I’m alive!”

**Author's Note:**

> Robin's outfit was inspired by https://images.app.goo.gl/PNk3yvpzxdo65kHf8
> 
> I'm sure there is a better description of the sleeves if anyone want's to help a poor male with fashion!


End file.
